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oth late former President Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid and Riyanto, a member of Nahdlatul Ulama’s (NU) Banser youth wing, had a similar urgency in promoting diversity.

While Gus Dur’s legacy of pluralism received nationwide recognition, Riyanto’s legacy has only gained a limited scope within Mojokerto in East Java.

The oldest of seven children, Riyanto made national headlines after he sacrificed his life trying to toss away an explosive package he found in front of the Eben Haezer Church on Jl. Kartini where hundreds of people were attending Christmas Eve mass in 2000.

But as time goes by, his deeds have widely faded away from the recollection of most Indonesians.

On the dreadful day, Mojokerto’s Banser members, including Riyanto, had been assigned to help guard Christmas mass in churches all over the city in response to the escalating religious tensions in Ambon, Maluku.

Riyanto was standing in front of Eben Haezer church when one of the congregation members told him about a suspicious package left in a motorcycle parked near the church.

Riyanto immediately took the package, which was wrapped in a black plastic bag, and showed it to other security guards.

Driven by curiosity, Riyanto opened the package but only to ignite a sparking flame, forcing him to shout to the nearby people to stay away from the package.

But instead of discarding the package, Riyanto grabbed it and ran from the panicked crowd, looking for a drainage ditch where he could toss it. The bomb, however, exploded before Riyanto managed to drop it. The blast crushed his body and flung him 100 meters away.

He was 25 years old when he died.

“His death shows how people with religious differences can actually live side by side and support each other,” Saiful Amin, the deputy head of the local chapter of NU’s Ansor Youth Movement said recently.

To honor Riyanto’s sacrifice and remind Mojokerto residents of the city’s precious and hard-gained tolerance, the administration renamed a street near Riyanto’s modest house in Prajurit Kulon subdistrict after him.

Inspired by the incident, the Wahid Institute, an NGO founded by Gus Dur, established in 2008 the Riyanto Scholarship aimed at financially supporting the education of impoverished students as well as introducing them with the values of diversity and tolerance.

Ten years after his death, local activists said they were planning to erect a statue of Riyanto in the city, hoping it would remind locals about the importance of upholding peace despite all the differences.

“What Riyanto did was supposed to be an inspiration for all of us, not only for people in Mojokerto but also for the entire country,” local priest the Rev. Simon Filanthropa said.

He said the plan to erect the statue would be discussed further during a commemoration of Riyanto’s deed this year.

Ansor’s Saiful also shared his optimism about the plan, saying Riyanto deserved public acknowledgment as a Muslim hero more than those who committed acts of terrorism.